Brandon Jackson
Brandon Jackson is a Yo-Yo Professional born and raised in Nashville TN and currently lives in Orlando, Florida. He is a former member of Duncan Crew World-Wide , producer of "Throw 2008", a video of some of the best modern yo-yoers in the world, and a former National Sales & Marketing Coordinator for Duncan Toys. Brandon first started yoyoing in Kindergarten when his recess teacher gave lessons using Duncan Buttefly yo-yos. A few years later he picked up a Duncan Glow Imperial at the local drug store and was hooked! During the yo-yo boom of '98/'99 yoyoing became his #1 hobby. At the age of 14 he landed a job at the local "YoMomma" mall kiosk (cart) as a demonstrator. In 2001 he founded the Nashville Tennessee yo-yo club "Team Chaotix". It was that year that Brandon fell in love with the Duncan Freehand, and attended the World Yo-Yo Contest for the first time. In 2008 he was invited to join the Duncan Crew. And in August of 2009 he was offered the National Sales & Marketing Coordinator position with Duncan Toys. He moved to Middlefield Ohio to accept the position in September of 2009. In 2009 he released his first yo-yo dvd titled "Throw 2008" which features 18 of the worlds best yo-yo players. Throw 2008 was sold by over 9 retailers, in over 5 countries including Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, Singapore, and the United States. Throw 2008 was limited to 500 copies. In 2010 Brandon toured the U.S.A. for Duncan's 80th Anniversary Tour performing at various locations around the USA such as retail shops, and children's hospitals. During the tour he appeared on many television news programs, including the Nationally televised "CBS Early Show". He was also featured in Duncan's "How To Be A Yo-Yo Ninja" instructional video, as well as Duncan's "Heritage: The Duncan Yo-Yo Story" a documentary that chronicles the history of the brand and it's demonstrators. In February 2012 he became the Director of the Cleveland Yo-Yo Club and was later awarded with the National Yo-Yo Achievement Award by the National Yo-Yo Museum. This award is awarded annually to the person who’s effort successfully improves the sport and positively influences the industry. In 2010 Brandon began working on forming a Corporate Alliance Partnership between Duncan Toys and the Walt Disney Company. In 2013 this partnership became official and he helped spearhead many marketing objectives including Yo-Yo demonstrations at Radio Disney events around the USA, licensed products to be sold at Hong Kong Disneyland, and Duncan's first owned/operated retail store initiative with locations at The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and The Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. In 2013 he was promoted to Regional Sales Manager and moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Orlando, Florida to manage the Walt Disney World Duncan retail store, manage sales and promotions in the southeast region. Among these efforts included demonstrations at special events on Disney property, as well as the 2014 International Yo-Yo Championships which was held at the House of Blues at Downtown Disney. On November 4th 2014 Brandon received a call letting him know that he was being laid off from Duncan Toys, he resigned from Duncan Crew USA soon after. In March of 2015 Brandon began work on opening his own yo-yo and skill toy retail store, "The Yo-Yo Shop". Phase one of The Yo-Yo Shop positions itself as an online/ecommerce retailer with future plans of opening a retail location in Central Florida, as well as kiosks located around the USA during the holiday seasons. The Yo-Yo Shop can be found by visiting www.yo-yoshop.com. Achievements 1999 *Hired as demonstrator for YoMomma Mall Cart (Nashville - Age 14) *Nashville Public Library Yo-Yo Contest 1st Place 2001 *Co-Founds Nashville Tn Yo-Yo Club (Known as Team Chaotix) 2002 *Mid East Regional 13th Place Single A 2007 *Tennessee State Contest 8th Place Single A (2nd Place In State) *Indiana State Contest 15th Place Single A 2008 *East Coast Classic 23rd Place Single A *Indiana State Contest 23rd Place Single A *South East Regional Contest 8th Place Single A *Mid East Classic 14th place Single A *North Carolina State Contest 14th place Single A *North Carolina Pink Slip Trick Contest 1st place *Tennessee State YoYo Contest Overall ?? (2nd Place In State) *(09 season) South East Regional 5th Place Single A *Invited to join Duncan Crew Worldwide 2009 *Hired as National Sales & Marketing Coordinator For Duncan Toys *Tennessee State Yo-Yo Contest ORGANIZER *Madfest Madison Wisconsin State Yo-Yo Contest JUDGE *Georgia State Yo-Yo Contest JUDGE *Missouri State Yo-Yo Contest 12th Place Single A 2010 *Mid-East Regional Yo-Yo Contest 14th Place Single A *Mid-East Regional Yo-Yo Contest 3rd Place Double A 2011 *European Yo-Yo Championship JUDGE *Ohio State Yo-Yo Contest CO-ORGANIZER 2012 *Became Director of the Cleveland Yo-Yo Club *Ohio State Yo-Yo Contest ORGANIZER *Mid-East Regional Yo-Yo Contest 3rd Place Double A *Mid-East Regional Yo-Yo Contest 4th Place Five A *Tennessee State Yo-Yo Contest 1st Place Double A *Awarded the National Yo-Yo Achievement Award by the National Yo-Yo Museum *Illinois State Yo-Yo Contest 20th Place Single A *Illinois State Yo-Yo Contest 4th Place Dual 2014 *Florida State Yo-Yo Contest JUDGE 2015 *Florida State Yo-Yo Contest 3rd Place Two Handed Double A *Florida State Yo-Yo Contest 11th Place Single A External Links *Youtube Page *Vimeo Page *Throw 2008 *Duncan Crew Worldwide Category:People